Democracy

de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner" - Bill Gunshannon

U.S. Salutes ElBaradei-AP

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei wins The Nobel Peace Prize for 2005.
U.S. Salutes ElBaradei for Winning Prize.
Achievements- He supported extended weapons inspections in Iraq and curbed the spread of atomic weapons to Iran and helped proliferation of Nuclear weapons in Israel and North Korea.
Good Job Elbaradei!

Why does Blair say Iran may be linked to Iraq bombs ?

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday that evidence pointed to Iran or its Lebanese Hizbollah allies as the source of sophisticated explosives used in roadside bombs in Iraq, although Britain did not have proof.

The story sounds amazing, almost fantastical.

A car driving through the outskirts of a besieged city
opens fire on a police checkpoint, killing one. In
pursuit, the police surround and detain the drivers
and find the vehicle packed with explosives – perhaps
part of an insurgent's plan to destroy lives and
cripple property. If that isn't enough, when the
suspects are thrown in prison their allies drive right
up to the walls of the jail, break through them and
brave petroleum bombs and burning clothes to rescue
their comrades. 150 other prisoners break free in the
ensuing melee.

Incredible, no? Yet this story took place in the
southern Iraqi city of Basra recently. Violence
continues to escalate in the breakout's aftermath...
just not for the reasons you think.

You see, the drivers of the explosive-laden car were
not members of an insurgency group – they were British
Special Forces. Their rescuers? British soldiers
driving British tanks.

Taysir Alluni: Where the freedom of Press failed and no one cares.

Alluni, began his career as an Arabic translator for a news agency in Granada, Spain.He is credited as being the only journalist based in Afghanistan in October 2001 to show the world what the US war machine was doing to one of the world's poorest countries. Alluni's work in that war-torn country came to an end when US forces bombed Aljazeera's Kabul office. Later in Iraq, he narrowly escaped the US bombing of the Aljazeera Baghdad bureau. The onslaught killed his colleague, Aljazeera reporter Tariq Ayub.
The Spanish High Court found him guilty of collaboration with al-Qaida, sentencing the Syrian-born Spaniard to seven years in jail. Alluni who interviewed Osama bin Laden said he was only doing his job as a journalist, but the prosecution alleged he was in league with al-Qaida and its leader and accused of acting as a financial courier to the group while in Afghanistan.

Damascus steel

Also known as Damascened steel, is a methodology rather than a type of steel alloy that results in a blend of steels that provide qualities such as strength and malleablity, to exactly the right locations in a blade to optimize its performance and durability.
Several different types of Damascus steel have built a legend of a material that is perfect for the building of swords. The term supposedly refers to the metal used by the artisans and swordsmiths of Damascus, Syria.
Damascus steel began to be produced from the wootz of India between c900 and 1600 in the Middle East, and then disappeared for reasons that are not entirely understood. It is said that when it was first encountered by Europeans during the Crusades it garnered an almost mythical reputation—a Damascus steel blade was said to be able to cut a piece of silk in half as it fell to the ground, as well as being able to chop through normal blades, or even rock, without losing its sharp edge.

So in the Libyan fable it is told
That once an eagle, stricken with a dart,
Said, when he saw the fashion of the shaft,
"With our own feathers, not by others' hands,
Are we now smitten."
- Aeschylus